Toasted Sister Podcast

This podcast episode is a 20-minute preview of “Indigenous Roots: Exploring the Crossroads of African American and Indigenous American Cuisine,” an online two-part event hosted by the Museum of Food and Drink on Aug. 5 and 6. Guest chefs, Yusuf Bin-Rella of Trade Roots Culinary Collective, Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk), executive chef and founder of Wild Bearies, and chef Dave Smoke-McCluskey (Mohawk), will speak about the ways in which both cuisines have influenced each other in the context of the social reasons that early African American and Native American cultures came together out of necessity. This necessity, in turn, created a beautiful cuisine that is now part of the American food lexicon and continues to evolve. Where: Zoom When: Talk on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Afro-Indigenous virtual food demonstration on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Tickets: $15 general admission for Aug. 5 panel discussion, $40 for the cooking demo on Aug. 6, and $45 for the panel and cooking demo. Info

When I visited Paul Natrall (Suquamish) in his Mr. Bannock food truck in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, I wasn’t expecting to get a taste of some of the most delicious pizza I ever had. I did and that was also my first taste of bannock, an Indigenous flour-based bread (kind of like frybread). In this episode, I talk with chef Paul about bannock, how he got hooked on culinary arts and a new Indigenous group called Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations. More photos at ToastedSisterPodcast.com.

In this special episode, I talk with seven Indigenous people working in the food industry about how they are being affected by COVID-19. On the show: Nico Albert, executive chef of Duet Restaurant Crystal Wahpepah, owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen Spring Alaska, owner of Sakari Farms Inez Cook, owner of Salmon n’ Bannock Zach Johnston, writer and editor at Uproxx Kelsey Ducheneaux, owner of DX Beef Michelle Crank, executive director of communications for Navajo Gaming Enterprise

In this special episode, I visit with Chef Maria Parra Cano in her food truck, Sana Sana. We share a nice, plant-based dinner and then we talk about labels, her mom’s recipes and food as medicine. Recipe below. Verde smoothie 1 cup nopales, diced 1 cup pineapple, diced ¼ cup cilantro, diced 2 tablespoons chia seeds ½ cup water 1 cup raw spinach Agave and ice to taste Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Drink raw or freeze like sherbert or popsicles. sanasanafoods.com

In this special episode, I take you through the 4th annual Red Lake Nation Food Summit in Minnesota. Doug DesJarlait talks about walleye, Deb Smith talks about ancestral seeds, Veronica Kingbird-Bratvold talks about plant relatives, Dan Kimewon talks about corn and Kevin Finney talks about basket making.

March 2020: COVID-19 hit the fan and is affecting all in the restaurant industry, including Salmon n’ Bannock, the only Indigenous brick-and-mortar restaurant in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. In this episode, I visit Salmon n’ Bannock and talk with Inez Cook, the owner, about her personal journey in the industry and how food around the world influences her palate. Photo: Kass Cross

Alana Yazzie (Navajo) went from being wary of Facebook to becoming a lifestyle and food blogger with a big social media following. She goes by The Fancy Navajo and you can find her across all social media platforms cooking, gardening and modeling a signature, cheery aesthetic wherever she is in Native America. Mentioned The Fancy Navajo: https://thefancynavajo.com/ IndigiPopX: https://www.indigipopx.com/

In this episode, I visit Spirit Lake Native Farms in Minnesota and one of its owners, Bruce Savage (Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe), for a tour through the wild rice processing plant. Included in this episode is a short ASMR session that’ll make you tingle. Tour photos are at ToastedSisterPodcast.com Mentioned: Bruce’s email address spiritlakesugar@yahoo.com Natives on a Budget Podcast: http://nativesonabudget.com/

In this special episode I talk with Benjamin Shendo (Cochiti and Jemez Pueblo) and Linus Yellowhorse (Tohono O’odham) from Gatherings Cafe at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. They’re a couple of chill dudes who just fell into the kitchen and turned a job into a passion for feeding Indigenous food to Minneapolis’ Native community. Vote for "Toasted Sister Podcast” in the Innovator category of the Local Hero Awards by Edible New Mexico magazine! https://www.ediblenm.com/local-hero-awards/ "What They Say," new album by CW Ayon: https://cwayon.bandcamp.com/album/what-they-say

In this episode I talk with Donell Barlow (Ottawa) about her new book, “Bigfoot and Lightning Bug,” a children’s book about Bigfoot and the environment. Donell is a chef, certified holistic health coach and the author of “Medicine Tracks: A Memoir.” Mentioned: “Ancestral guided wellness: A way of life for our ancestors, a movement that could heal our bodies and the planet” by Donell Barlow in Indian Country Today Books mentioned: “Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Culture Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health” by Devon Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover “Fresh Alaska Cookbook” by Rob Kinneen “Inventos Mios” by Rubi Orozco Santos “tawâw” by Shane M. Chartrand “Cooking with the Wolfman: Indigenous Fusion” by David Wolfman and Marlene Finn “The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen” by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley “Imminent Cuisine: Indigenous Food Futurisms” by Toasted Sister Podcast Events mentioned: IndigiPopX Sneak Preview, Saturday, Nov. 9 in Albuquerque “Toasted Sis

Alien Weaponry is a three-piece thrash metal band from New Zealand. The band members, Lewis de Jong (Maori), Henry de Jong (Maori) and Bobby Oblak (substitute bassist for Ethan Trembath), join me in the studio to talk about their U.S tour, the Indigenous history and stories in their music and their love for the Navajo Nation. Their big Window Rock, Arizona show is on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Navajo Sports Center.

We made a zine about Indigenous food futurisms! It includes 24-pages of all-original work by myself, Monica Braine, junior editor of “Imminent Cuisine,” and seven other Native artists, illustrators, comic book artists, chefs and writers. In this episode, we talk about food in Indigenous futurisms and the work in the zine. Zine contributors: Elizabeth Lapensée (Anishinaabe/Metis/Irish), award-winning designer, writer, artist and researcher who creates and studies Indigenous-led media such as games and comics. Visit elizabethlapensee.com. Donell Barlow (Ottawa), author of “Medicine Tracks- A Memoir” and the children’s book, “Bigfoot and Lightning Bug.” Donell is a certified holistic health coach. Visit donellbarlow.com for recipes and more information. Kayla Shaggy (Diné/Anishinaabe), born in Shiprock, New Mexico, Kayla has been drawing comics since she could hold a pencil. To see more of her art and comics check out her website, kaylashaggy.gallery. Tashia Hart (Anishinaabe), writer, artist and biologi

I spoke to Cienan Muir (Yorta Yorta and Ngarrindjeri) at last year’s Indigenous Comic Con about kangaroo tail and I knew I had to collaborate with him for a future episode about Indigenous food in Australia. Well, this is the episode! While Cienan was in Albuquerque, I lured him into the studio to talk more about Indigenous foods in Australia, Native stories in pop culture and the upcoming Indigenous Comic Con Australia.

Germaine Simonson (Navajo) never operated a cash register before she took over ownership of Rocky Ridge Gas and Market, a grocery store in the middle of rural Navajo Nation, Arizona. This episode is about food entrepreneurship, making future plans and genuinely wanting to provide useful services for the Native community. Included is an interview with Jessica Stago, program director of business incubation for Change Labs. Produced with help from Alisha Murphy, my little sister and doctoral student focused on tribal economic development. More photos at ToastedSisterPodcast.com.

Do you know how much money you spend on food? If you’re like me, finding out that triple-digit number will make you sick. In this episode, Monica Braine (Natives on a Budget, Native America Calling) and I take a 31 Day No Eating Out Challenge that give us perspective into our spending and eating habits.

Chef Lawrence Garcia (Acoma and Navajo), executive chef at Sky City Casino, in New Mexico is skilled at making odd ingredients taste good together, which is a skill he needed for 505 Food Fights, a charitable event that brings together all kinds of chefs from Albuquerque. In this episode, I follow him and Diné chef Josh Nez through the tournament.

In this special episode I catch up with some awesome women at the 2nd Native Women’s Business Summit, a powerful event for Native women entrepreneurs to lift each other up, network and encourage business growth in Native America. The women in this episode see the importance of food in business and Native traditions. I speak with: Addie Lucero (Taos) — Dancing Butterfly Naturals Percilla Frizzell (Diné) — Sacred Generations Reyna Benteah (Zuni) — Ts’uyya Farm Kathy Sanchez (San Ildefonso) — Tewa Women United Shayai Lucero (Laguna and Acoma) — Earth and Sky Flora Designs and Gallery

No one really likes to be told what to do especially when it comes to food. Food is culture and to be told that that’s not good enough by outsiders, well, that makes us angry. In this episode Lynn Lane (Diné), community health nutritionist, and Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz (Tewa and Chicana), chef and holistic healer, are no longer gentle Indians.

The 2018 Southwest Native American Workshop on Bats gathered a couple dozen bat researchers and biologists from federal, state and tribal entities to talk about bat conservation ahead of the spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in the Southwest. They also focused on where bats fit into Native culture. Voices in the episode: Lawrence Abeita (Isleta), wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Dr. Ernie Valdez, research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey Dr. Mike Medrano, chief of resource stewardship and science for the Guadalupe Mountains National Park Nelson Luna (Zuni), director of biology for the Pueblo of Zuni Timothy Smith (Mescalero Apache), biological technician for the Pueblo of Sandia Taylor Silva (Diné), Navajo Nation Department of Fish & Wildlife Roger Rodriguez, regional bat monitoring research assistant at Oregon State University

In this episode I talk with Brian Tatsukawa, culinary instructor at the Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and a few of his students about why a career in culinary arts is important and what challenges young students have cooking on the reservation.